AU: These Days
by bookworm1945
Summary: AU where Rain, Yuca, and Machika live normal lives in a small town. This will be a series of slice-of-life oneshots not necessarily in chronological order. I doubt anything majorly horrible will happen in this series because they are my babies and I love them so. Please R&R!


**I don't own this beautiful series. If I did, I would make sure to get the remaining three volumes published in English. Also, the cover image is by the genius herself, Kaori Ozaki, found on her pixiv account. **

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Cross One: Companionship at Crepuscule

Machika glided down the dim road, plastic grocery bags swinging in her hands, the streetlights above providing only a faint light by which to see. The twilight sky stretched far above her, stars beginning to peek out from between the trees and buildings that decorated the near horizon. The cicadas seemed especially loud this evening, but their tranquil music was nice to listen to, in Machika's opinion. From her position on the longest bridge in Ochikawa, (which admittedly wasn't that long), her small hometown resembled a raggedy blanket that had hastily been thrown over a little lamp, pinpricks of light shining through in innumerable places. The mountain that most of the town was stationed on reared up before her, the base bathed in soft yellow light while the peak rose into obscure darkness.

The older section of town, the part on the base of the mountain, was Machika's destination. Along with most every other family in Ochikawa, she lived in one of the old, rustic houses that populated the small town. Her "grandfather", Zol, lived with her and provided for her needs, as he was her guardian. Honestly, the man was in his late 30s, not nearly old enough to be her grandfather. He insisted, however, that he be called "grandfather" in place of "father". Apparently, he had known (and Machika suspected, loved) her mother while she had been pregnant. For some time Machika had wondered if Zol was, in fact, her biological father, but the faint regret in his eyes when he told her otherwise made her think he only wished he was.

Machika shook herself out of her thoughts. _In any case_, she thought to herself, _he'll be pretty upset if we don't get home before nine._ The "we" in her thoughts reminded her of her companion, and a slight feeling of guilt fleeted across her mind. Her anxiety as soon put to rest, however, as she heard the sharp _slap_-ing of flat rubber soles against the asphalt. She turned to look behind her as a harried figure came into view. The first thing that was noticeable about him was the plastic bag he carried, filled with goods from the convenience store that had recently opened up in the new portion of town. Slender and of medium height, the young man slowed as he reached her, his ragged breathing proving his exhaustion. The sweat pants and t-shirt he wore coupled with the rumpled dark curls that crowned his head made him seem like he could have just rolled out of bed, except the young man in question was most certainly awake and _very _irritated.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" he snapped at her after his breath returned.

Machika shrugged, her face a picture of innocence.

"You were taking too long, so I thought I would get a head start."

"I was talking to him for a total five minutes." Yuca growled as they started walking again, this time side by side.

"Really? Felt like longer." Machika looked away nonchalantly. Despite her airy attitude, Machika felt a bit guilty for leaving her friend while he was talking to the cashier, and really, it hadn't been that long."Sorry," she mumbled as they started walking again. "I was impatient."

Yuca must have heard the worried tinge in her voice, for he tossed his head back and gave a genuine, uproarious laugh. His laughter was always like that. Hearing it made her smile. "Machika, he's been alone for fifteen minutes. There's no way he can cause his regular amount of destruction in such a short time."

Machika didn't respond, although her fears were only slightly relieved by Yuca's words. It wasn't that Rain was malicious or rough, but the poor man had the dexterity of a drunken giraffe. Not that Machika had ever seen a drunken giraffe, but she imagined that if she did, it would remind her somewhat of Rain.

They had been neighbors since Zol had adopted her at birth. Rain lived with his grandmother, as he was an orphan like her. They had become friends at an early age, and since the town only had one school per level, they had attended the same school as well. To Machika's dissatisfaction, however, Rain was always two grades ahead of her, due to their unchanging age gap. Still, it was nice to eat lunch together.

Beside her, Yuca let out a small "Wow" and stuck out an elbow to nudge her.

"Hey Machika, look," he said, pointing to a distant point in the darkening sky.

Machika stopped and stared hard, scrutinizing the spot with earnest. "… I don't see anything." She sounded defeated.

Yuca smiled at her melancholy tone. He leaned towards her a little, lowering his head to her height, and pointed again with his head next to hers, giving her a more accurate view.

"See that? Next to Orion? That star that seems to move little by little?"

After some time, Machika nodded. "I see it," she crowed triumphantly.

"That's a satellite."

Machika looked at him in surprise. "What, really?"

Yuca nodded. "I've seen them a few times. They're usually only visible on really clear nights."

Machika turned back to study the sky.

"This is my first time seeing one. How do you know what a satellite looks like?"

"I read a book. You should try it sometime," Yuca said airily as they started walking again.

Machika decided to take the mature stance in this conversation.

"I don't overly enjoy reading, but I know for a fact that you don't enjoy aikido as I do. It's nothing to make a point of. To each their own, right Yuca?" she said in what she thought was a very mature and reasonable tone.

There was only silence beside her. Suspicious, Machika looked over at Yuca to see him staring straight ahead, his face deadpan. As she kept looking she noticed he was trembling slightly, and breathing deeply. Concerned, she stepped in front of him to look him in the face and ask if he was oka-

As soon as their eyes met, Yuca busted out laughing.

Machika watched in silence, wearing an expression that one might make when forced to deal with a particularly undisciplined child.

After he had gotten his breath back, he said in a mirthful tone, "You are such a kid."

Machika arched an eyebrow.

"Excuse you. I don't want to hear that from you. I am sixteen. And as it is a well-known and respected fact that girls mature faster than boys, I think it's safe to say that we are, for all intents and purposes, the same age."

Machika liked that phrase, "for all intents and purposes." She had heard it on that foreign drama, "NCIS", when Zol had watched it last week. She thought it made her sound very well-spoken.

Yuca looked over at his short companion, seeing her eyes set forward and positively radiating mature dignity. He tried his best not to laugh at her self-righteous manner, and instead settled for smiling contentedly.

Since Yuca and Rain were both eighteen, one may think it strange for them to have such a close friendship with a girl who looked like she was still in middle school. But their friendship was not one born of convenience or proximity, but of a natural sense of connection and bonding. Yuca had moved onto the vacant house on their street some years back, when Machika had just begun elementary school. Rain and Machika had immediately taken measures to befriend Yuca, although the young boy was unusually stiff and reserved. After prolonged pestering on Rain's part, however, Yuca began to warm up to them, much to Machika's satisfaction.

To Rain's delight, he and Yuca had been in the same class every year since middle school, due to the small population of the town. Even now, Yuca and Rain frequently met up at Machika's place to study, while Machika would study for her own classes and occasionally let them teach her the material they were learning. Yuca's father, a teacher at the local elementary school, had once said that three steps to learning material extremely well was first to be taught it, then to read it, and finally to teach it. So Machika enjoyed the little lessons she received in physics and trigonometry and the occasional analysis of literature. Sometimes she would joke that she would be at the top of her class in her senior year, and Yuca and Rain would always stifle laughter as they nodded seriously and muttered agreement.

The snacks Yuca and Machika carried at the moment were actually for the extended study session Rain had proposed. Exams were coming up, and the fact that Rain's brainiac best friend was in the same class as him was probably the only reason Rain passed each year. It was a case of rare benevolence on Yuca's part that he actually enjoyed studying together. Yuca took after his dad, in that he enjoyed teaching others. He was also, unfortunately for Rain, as strict as his father. Rain was back at Machika's at the moment tasked with memorizing physics formulas.

As Yuca and Machika walked in comfortable silence, the bridge disappeared behind them, and they exited the main road, turning instead to a dim alley that ran between two shops. Yuca strode forward, confident in the familiar passageway. Machika trailed behind him, equally familiar with the route Yuca had chosen, but less sure of her footing in the pockmarked pavement. As they exited the alley, they turned sharply and slipped into a narrow gap behind another shop, creating a shortcut to a small parking lot attached to the store of Mr. Shikataki, a barber the three of them frequented. Yuca led Machika through a series of familiar crevices and winding alleys and sometimes over a building or two. It was a route only lifelong natives would know, one of many that Machika and Rain and Yuca had discovered as children. Many nights and Sunday afternoons had been spent exploring every alley and hidden gap in the small town, much to the anxiety of their guardians. Now Machika and Yuca walked along the complex route without a thought, jumping over a 15-foot drop between two buildings as if avoiding a bothersome puddle.

A silence settled between them as they traversed the maze, each letting their own minds wander. The distant cicadas supplied a steady soundtrack for their journey, and the stars above were only slightly lessened by the glare of streetlamps around them. They had come this way countless times before, sometimes each by themselves, sometimes all three together. It didn't matter if one was alone. The town was probably one of the safest in the country, and each of them had the dexterity of a mountain goat. It wouldn't matter one way or the other if one went this way in the company of others. Still.

Machika looked forward, watching Yuca's silhouette as it disappeared from the rooftop they shared, dropping to a garbage bin they knew waited below. After Machika did the same, she glanced ahead to see Yuca stopped, waiting for her. As soon as he saw she was down, he started off again without a word. Even if this was a route that could easily been taken alone, Machika was glad for the companionship. It wasn't really a big thing, but having someone beside you as you scuttled between buildings and over rooftops made for a good feeling indeed.


End file.
